Post navigation

Thursday’s Column

About 24 hours before Wednesday’s expected swearing in of a new police chief in Baldwin Park, another resident got murdered.

In a drive-by shooting to be exact. It occurred just blocks from the police department. Remarkable because it’s the city’s fifth homicide in 2008.

By comparison, at this time last year, Baldwin Park recorded just one slaying.

Welcome to Baldwin Park, “Hub City of the San Gabriel Valley.”

A stiff ocean breeze blew in from the Pacific Wednesday. Purple blossoms blew off the Jacarandas and bunched up in the gutter. Dust kicked up and made the intersection of Ramona Boulevard and Merced Avenue seem like an apparition from the Wild West.

It must have sounded like something out of a Clint Eastwood movie about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday evening.

A car with two women and a man approached the intersection from the west and stopped at the light. Another car pulled alongside. Shots rang out. Gunfire struck the man in the stopped car at least once.

By 7 p.m. he was dead and laid out on a slab in a local hospital waiting for relatives to identify him. By all accounts there was no immediate provocation for the slaying.“But who knows what happened before?” asked Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide Lt. Dan Rosenberg.

Even so, “There were indicators to suggest there were local gangs involved,” Rosenberg said. “My guess is that when this all pans out that will be the case.”

The upswing in homicides comes as Baldwin Park is in the midst of remaking itself.

Whole blighted neighborhoods that were once filled with seedy pay-by-the-hour motels and ramshackle motor home courts have been torn down.

The fences, prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and parolees have moved on to greener pastures. Families have started taking over affordable housing options that line Ramona and Baldwin Park boulevards.

And yet, as if they lived in a town straight out of a spaghetti western, residents still cower in fear of the gangs that seemingly run the real city.

What usually happens in those old films is that the town’s lone sheriff or marshall leaves town and is replaced by a “shoot first, ask questions later” kind of lawman.

The hired new muscle drives out the bad guys and everybody lives happily ever after.

As for the new muscle in Baldwin Park?

Her name is Lili Hadsell, but you can probably call her chief.

Hadsell, who began the year as a lieutenant, likely takes over as the county’s third female municipal police chief. After many years working for the Baldwin Park Police Department, Hadsell told reporter Amanda Baumfeld she’s ready for the challenges — even as the town’s homicide rate continues to soar and residents remain fearful.

“I am not new to the community,” Hadsell said. “Our gang unit has helped with violence and the city is not what it was like 10 years ago. It is relatively safer now. We have a stronger police presence on the street.”

“the city is not what it was like 10 years ago. It is relatively safer now,” the new chief says.

I beg to differ.

I moved to Baldwin Park in 1998 and there was a good reason for it….it was a quiet, safe neighborhood, at least in my corner of the city, north of Los Angeles Street.

The new chief’s statement is a sad one .

The Tribune’s story on this murder says it all…there was only one slaying this late in the year in 2007.

The first thing Chief Hadsell needs to do is to recognize that we have a problem and sadly, she’s not doing that.

chuck s.

good article Frank, you have it exactly right. it’s become a little scary living here. More power to our police force and our new police chief. they are doing a great job.

ANGELS

I agree, Baldwin Park is no longer safe and it is not just because of the gangs. But also because of all the drug activity in BP. I dont even go to the local grocery store because it is infested with drug addicts begging for money. I go to the stores outside of BP. We hear the helicopters and police sirens almost every night.

Jennifer Robledo

Yes, the helicopters are out ‘patrolling’, not necessarily looking for a criminal that is on the loose. They patrol every single day, during the day and at night, pay close attention and you will notice a pattern. I am extremely pleased with the Baldwin Park Police Department, especially within the last 5 years or so. They’ve stepped up the patrolling amazingly, both in the helicopter and in vehicles on all shifts. I would never say such a thing if it wasn’t really noticeable. It sounds wierd but I live on a street where long time notorious criminals have lived and still do and I actually feel very very safe ever since the Baldwin Park Police Department stepped up the patrol years back. Another thing, they’re response time is “faster than a speeding bullet”!

Comments Policy

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@langnews.com.